System and method for hybrid transmitter

ABSTRACT

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a device that includes: a first quadrature modulator configured to receive an in-phase portion of a baseband signal and a quadrature portion of the baseband signal, and to produce a first portion of an output signal according to the in-phase and quadrature portions of the baseband signal; a second quadrature modulator configured to receive a first modified signal and a second modified signal, and to produce a second portion of the output signal according to the first and second modified signals; an output circuit configured to sum the first and second portions of the output signal, and to transmit the output signal to an antenna; and a mode selection circuit configured to turn on the first quadrature modulator, to receive a control signal, and to determine whether to turn on the second quadrature modulator according to the control signal.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/101,742, filed Nov. 23, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/450,581, filed Jun. 24, 2019, entitled “Systemand Method for Hybrid Transmitter,” which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/011,287, filed Jun. 18, 2018 (now U.S.Pat. No. 10,333,763), entitled “System and Method for HybridTransmitter,” which applications are hereby incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a system and method for atransmitter, and, in particular embodiments, to a system and method fora hybrid transmitter.

BACKGROUND

In modern cellular devices, high transmitter linearity helps avoidinterference between nearby devices. Specific levels of transmitterlinearity may be required by certain standards or governing bodies. Forexample, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) imposes stringentcounter-intermodulation (CIM) requirements. Some types of transmittersmay meet new CIM requirements better than other types. For example, suchCIM requirements may be met with, e.g., a multi-phase transmitterdesign. A multi-phase transmitter is sometimes referred to as “N-phase”transmitter, where N is an integer number. Such transmitters implement Ntransmission paths to generate an up-converted output signal. A 4-Phasetransmitter is sometimes referred to as a differential quadraturetransmitter, but higher-level phased transmitters, such as 8-Phasetransmitters, may also be used.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided adevice that includes: a first quadrature modulator configured to receivean in-phase portion of a baseband signal and a quadrature portion of thebaseband signal, and to produce a first portion of an output signalaccording to the in-phase and quadrature portions of the basebandsignal; a second quadrature modulator configured to receive a firstmodified signal and a second modified signal, and to produce a secondportion of the output signal according to the first and second modifiedsignals; an output circuit configured to sum the first and secondportions of the output signal, and to transmit the output signal to anantenna; and a mode selection circuit configured to turn on the firstquadrature modulator, to receive a control signal, and to determinewhether to turn on the second quadrature modulator according to thecontrol signal.

Optionally, in any of the preceding aspects, another implementation ofthe aspect provides that the mode selection circuit is configured to becoupled to a controller, the controller configured to receive parametersof a transmission, and to produce the control signal according to theparameters of the transmission, where the parameters of the transmissioninclude a current resource block configuration of the transmission, acurrent transmission power of the transmission, and an operating band ofthe transmission. Optionally, in any of the preceding aspects, anotherimplementation of the aspect provides that the mode selection circuit isfurther configured to: refrain from turning on the second quadraturemodulator in response to the current resource block configuration beingin the center of a channel for the transmission. Optionally, in any ofthe preceding aspects, another implementation of the aspect providesthat the mode selection circuit is further configured to: turn on thesecond quadrature modulator in response to the current resource blockconfiguration being at the edge of a channel for the transmission.Optionally, in any of the preceding aspects, another implementation ofthe aspect provides that the mode selection circuit is furtherconfigured to: determine a threshold transmission power according to theoperating band of the transmission; and refrain from turning on thesecond quadrature modulator in response to the current transmissionpower of the transmission being less than or equal to the thresholdtransmission power. Optionally, in any of the preceding aspects, anotherimplementation of the aspect provides that the threshold transmissionpower is determined using a lookup table indexed by the operating band.Optionally, in any of the preceding aspects, another implementation ofthe aspect provides that the output circuit includes an amplifierconfigured to amplify the output signal before transmission to theantenna. Optionally, in any of the preceding aspects, anotherimplementation of the aspect provides that the device further includes:a compensation and correction module, the compensation and correctionmodule configured to modify the baseband signal, the mode selectioncircuit configured to change parameters of the compensation andcorrection module according to the control signal. Optionally, in any ofthe preceding aspects, another implementation of the aspect providesthat the compensation and correction module is configured to compensatea phase of the baseband signal according to whether the secondquadrature modulator is turned on. Optionally, in any of the precedingaspects, another implementation of the aspect provides that thecompensation and correction module is configured to correct impairmentof the baseband signal according to whether the second quadraturemodulator is turned on. Optionally, in any of the preceding aspects,another implementation of the aspect provides that the device furtherincludes: a carrier clock generator including a first portion and asecond portion, the first portion of the carrier clock generatorconfigured to generate a first carrier clock signal having a firstoutput frequency when the second quadrature modulator is turned on, thesecond portion of the carrier clock generator configured to generate asecond carrier clock signal having a second output frequency when thesecond quadrature modulator is turned off.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided amethod that includes: receiving a parameter for a transmission, theparameter including a current resource block configuration of thetransmission, a current transmission power of the transmission, and anoperating band of the transmission; determining a threshold transmissionpower according to an operating band of the transmission; turning on afirst quadrature modulator of the transmitter and refraining fromturning on a second quadrature modulator of the transmitter, in responseto the current resource block configuration being in the center of achannel for the transmission; and turning on the first quadraturemodulator and the second quadrature modulator of the transmitter, inresponse to the current transmission power being greater than thethreshold transmission power.

Optionally, in any of the preceding aspects, another implementation ofthe aspect provides that the method further includes: turning on thesecond quadrature modulator of the transmitter in response to thecurrent resource block configuration being at the edge of the channelfor the transmission. Optionally, in any of the preceding aspects,another implementation of the aspect provides that determining thethreshold transmission power includes: looking up the thresholdtransmission power in a lookup table according to the operating band ofthe transmission. Optionally, in any of the preceding aspects, anotherimplementation of the aspect provides that turning on the secondquadrature modulator includes: turning on a filter and adigital-to-analog converter of the second quadrature modulator.Optionally, in any of the preceding aspects, another implementation ofthe aspect provides that refraining from turning on the secondquadrature modulator includes: turning off a filter and adigital-to-analog converter of the second quadrature modulator.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided asystem that includes: a transmitter including a first quadraturemodulator and a second quadrature modulator, the first quadraturemodulator configured to receive a first portion of a baseband signal,the second quadrature modulator configured to receive a second portionof the baseband signal, the transmitter configured to receive a controlsignal, and to control power to turn the second quadrature modulator onand off according to the control signal, the first quadrature modulatorremaining on when controlling the power to the second quadraturemodulator; and a processor configured to determine a configuration of atransmission, to produce the control signal according to theconfiguration, and to send the baseband signal and the control signal tothe transmitter.

Optionally, in any of the preceding aspects, another implementation ofthe aspect provides that the configuration includes a current resourceblock configuration of the transmission, and the transmitter isconfigured to turn the second quadrature modulator on response to thecurrent resource block configuration being in the center of a channelfor the transmission. Optionally, in any of the preceding aspects,another implementation of the aspect provides that the configurationincludes a current transmission power of the transmission, and thetransmitter is configured to turn the second quadrature modulator onresponse to the current transmission power exceeding a predeterminedthreshold. Optionally, in any of the preceding aspects, anotherimplementation of the aspect provides that the configuration includes anoperating band of the transmission, and the predetermined threshold isselected from a plurality of predetermined thresholds according to theoperating band.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a network for communicating data, in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of portions of a mobile device, in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a system diagram of a transmitter, in accordance with someembodiments;

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a transmitter during operation, in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for controlling spurious emissionof a mobile device, in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method for controlling spurious emissionof a mobile device, in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a chart showing power consumption of a transmitter, inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a processing system, in accordance withsome embodiments; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a transceiver, in accordance with someembodiments.

Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generallyrefer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures aredrawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the embodiments andare not necessarily drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The making and using of embodiments of this disclosure are discussed indetail below. It should be appreciated, however, that the conceptsdisclosed herein can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts,and that the specific embodiments discussed herein are merelyillustrative and do not serve to limit the scope of the claims. Further,it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of this disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a network 100 for communicating data. The network100 comprises a base station 110 having a coverage area 101, a pluralityof mobile devices 120, and a backhaul network 130. As shown, the basestation 110 establishes uplink (dashed line) and/or downlink (dottedline) connections with the mobile devices 120, which serve to carry datafrom the mobile devices 120 to the base station 110 and vice-versa. Datacarried over the uplink/downlink connections may include datacommunicated between the mobile devices 120, as well as datacommunicated to/from a remote-end (not shown) by way of the backhaulnetwork 130. As used herein, the term “base station” refers to anycomponent (or collection of components) configured to provide wirelessaccess to a network, such as an enhanced base station (eNB), amacro-cell, a femtocell, a Wi-Fi access point (AP), or other wirelesslyenabled devices. Base stations may provide wireless access in accordancewith one or more wireless communication protocols, e.g., long termevolution (LTE), LTE advanced (LTE-A), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA),Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, etc. As used herein, the term “mobile device”refers to any component (or collection of components) capable ofestablishing a wireless connection with a base station, such as a userequipment (UE), a mobile station (STA), and other wirelessly enableddevices. In some embodiments, the network 100 may comprise various otherwireless devices, such as relays, low power nodes, etc.

According to some embodiments, one or more of the mobile devices 120 usea hybrid transmitter for performing transmissions. A hybrid transmittermay be a multi-phase transmitter structure that operates in multiple(“hybrid”) modes. The hybrid transmitter may be controlled to operate asan 8-Phase transmitter or a 4-Phase transmitter. When operating as an8-Phase transmitter, the hybrid transmitter consumes more power but mayalso achieve high linearity performance. When operating as a 4-Phasetransmitter, the hybrid transmitter consumes less power. 4-Phaseoperation may be performed in situations where linearity requirementsare relaxed, and 8-Phase operation may be performed in situations wherehigh linearity is needed. Linearity requirements for a transmission maybe determined according to the resource block (RB) and/or channelconfiguration for the transmission. By reducing power consumption whenlinearity requirements are relaxed, the average power consumption of thetransmitter may be reduced while still satisfying CIM requirements. Byreducing power consumption, the battery life of the mobile device 120may be increased.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of portions of a mobile device 120, inaccordance with some embodiments. The illustrated portions of the mobiledevice 120 include a baseband integrated circuit (IC) 202, a transmitter204, one or more amplifiers 206, one or more filters 208, one or moreantennas 210, and a power controller 214. The baseband IC 202 includesprocessors, memories, and the like, which may be executing firmware orsoftware. For example, the baseband IC 202 may include general-purposeprocessors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), or the like. In an embodiment, the basebandIC 202 comprises a baseband processor that generates outgoing signalsfor transmission and communicates the outgoing signals to thetransmitter 204 using one or more signals 212. The signals 212 mayinclude control signals and the outgoing signals, and are inputted tothe transmitter 204 as baseband signals. The outgoing signals inputtedto the transmitter 204 are represented by quadrature signals thatinclude an in-phase portion (I) and a quadrature portion (Q).

The transmitter 204 generates an output signal for transmissionaccording to the outgoing baseband signal. The transmitter 204 alsoincludes front-end output circuitry, such as summers and a variable gainamplifier (VGA), for producing an upconverted radio frequency (RF)signal. The output signal is then amplified by the amplifiers 206. Theamplifiers 206 may include a power amplifier (PA) or the like, and maybe part of the transmitter 204 or may be separate from the transmitter204. In an embodiment, the amplifiers 206 include a PA that is separatefrom the transmitter 204. Once amplified, the filters 208 may optionallybe used to remove noise from the output signal. Finally, the outputsignal is transmitted using the antennas 210. During operation, thepower controller 214 performs transmission power control for thetransmitter 204 and amplifier 206. Parameters for a transmission, suchas the current frequency band, the target antenna power, and the currentLTE RB configuration, are communicated to the power controller 214,which performs transmission power control based on the communicatedparameters. Although the power controller 214 is separately illustrate,it should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the power controller214 is part of the baseband integrated circuit (IC) 202.

In accordance with some embodiments, the transmitter 204 is a hybridtransmitter that may be configured for 4-Phase or 8-Phase operation bythe power controller 214 in conjunction with a mode selection circuit330 (see FIG. 3 , discussed further below), according to control signalsfrom the power controller 214. In an embodiment, the transmitter 204 isan 8-Phase transmitter that may be configured to implement 4-Phaseoperation. Particular features (or devices) of the 8-Phase transmittermay be powered off such that the features (or devices) remaining poweredon form a 4-Phase transmitter. The operating mode of the transmitter 204may be controlled based on several factors. In accordance with someembodiments, the power controller 214 receives parameters of atransmission, which may include the current frequency band, the targetantenna power, and the current LTE RB configurations of a transmissionthat will be performed by the transmitter 204. The power controller 214determines whether the transmitter 204 should operate in 4-Phase or8-Phase operation according to the transmission parameters. Anembodiment method for determining the mode of operation is describedfurther below with respect to FIG. 5 . Once the mode is determined, thepower controller 214 sends the control signals to the mode selectioncircuit 330, which configures the transmitter 204 to operate in theselected mode.

The transmitter 204 may be controlled by the power controller 214 tocomply with CIM requirements. CIM requirements may be imposed on themobile devices 120 to limit spurious emissions to nearby mobile devices120 operating at close frequencies. Spurious emission limits are oftendefined as an absolute level (e.g., in dBm). Spurious emissions maydepend on the output power of the transmitter 204. CIM requirements mayvary based on the output power, such that higher output powers havehigher CIM requirements. From the perspective of the transmitter 204,achieving a target spurious emission level (e.g., in dBc) between thedesired signal and unwanted spurious outputs is more difficult at highoutput power levels and easier at low output power levels. In otherwords, maintaining sufficiently low spurious emissions is easier atlower power levels. As such, in accordance with some embodiments, theoperating mode of the transmitter 204 may be changed while performingtransmitter automatic power control (TX APC) for the transmitter 204,which may be performed by the power controller 214 during operation(e.g., on-the-fly) based on the target transmission power for theantenna 210. In particular, a predetermined threshold is determined bythe power controller 214 based on the transmission parameters, and iscompared to current target transmission power for the antenna 210. Whenthe current target antenna power is higher than the predeterminedthreshold, 8-Phase operation is enabled. When the current target antennapower is less than or equal to the predetermined threshold, 4-Phaseoperation is enabled. A main cause of CIM distortion is mixing offundamental signals with third or fifth harmonics of the signals. An8-Phase transmitter cancels the third and fifth harmonics, and a 4-Phasetransmitter does not. As such, 8-Phase operation may provide better CIMperformance, but may do so at the cost of higher power consumption.

The transmitter 204 may also be controlled by the power controller 214according to the operating frequency used. CIM performance is frequencyband dependent (depending on the protection needed for nearby frequencyband), and so the mode of the transmitter 204 may be switched atpredefined switching point thresholds. As such, in accordance with someembodiments, the predetermined threshold for the current target antennapower is frequency-band-dependent. Different predetermined thresholdsmay be used by the power controller 214 in different frequency bands.

The transmitter 204 may also be controlled by the power controller 214according to the LTE resource block configuration used fortransmissions. Typically more stringent CIM requirements are onlyapplied to certain LTE RBs, such as RBs at edges of the frequencychannel. RBs located at the edge of the frequency channel tend to beconcentrated in a narrow bandwidth (e.g., have a higher energy density),and such RBs may cause greater CIM distortion than RBs that are moreevenly spread across the frequency channel. For other cases, CIMrequirements may be relaxed. Such cases include those where a full RB isused, or when a partial RB in the center of the channel is used. In suchcases, 4-Phase operation may be used while maintaining CIM compliance.RB configuration information is made available to transmitter 204 by,e.g., the baseband IC 202, and may be used for mode selection to furtheroptimize power consumption.

FIG. 3 is a system diagram of the transmitter 204, in accordance withsome embodiments. The transmitter 204 has a digital baseband portion 302and an analog transceiver portion 304. The digital baseband portion 302is realized as software, firmware, an ASIC, or the like, and the analogtransceiver portion 304 is realized as a circuit. The connections in theanalog transceiver portion 304 are balanced pairs of signals. Thetransmitter 204 includes a plurality of quadrature modulators, whichproduce the output signal according to the I and Q components of theoutgoing baseband signal. In particular, the transmitter 204 includes afirst quadrature modulator and a second quadrature modulator. As furtherdiscussed below, the I and Q components may be digitally processed by asignal compensation and correction module 306 before they are modulatedby the first and second quadrature modulators. The first and secondquadrature modulators modulate the I and Q components with a carriersignal from a carrier clock generator 308, which is also discussedfurther below. The resulting signals are then combined by an outputcircuit 310. The output circuit 310 includes additional RF circuitry,such as summers for combining the signals from the first and secondquadrature modulators to produce the output signal, and a VGA foramplifying the output signal. In some embodiments, the output circuit310 is a VGA, where the output of the mixers 316A-316B and 322A-322B aredirectly connected to the VGA input. Because the output of the mixers316A-316B and 322A-322B do not overlap, they may be directly connectedwithout the need for a summer. The output of the VGA may be transmittedto the antenna 210.

The first quadrature modulator includes digital-to-analog converters(DACs) 312A-312B, low-pass filters (LPFs) 314A-314B, and mixers316A-316B. The DACs 312A-312B, respectively, receive the I and Q signalsin digital form and each produce a corresponding balanced pair ofsignals. The LPFs 314A-314B remove noise from the balanced analog I andQ signals. The mixers 316A-316B multiply the analog I and Q signals withthe carrier signal. The carrier signal provided to the mixers 316A-316Bis a quadrature signal, such that the signal provided to the mixer 316Ais 90° out of phase with the signal provided to the mixer 316B. Theresulting signals are then combined in the output circuit 310.

The second quadrature modulator includes DACs 318A-318B, LPFs 320A-320B,and mixers 322A-322B. The DACs 318A-318B, respectively, receive modifiedI and Q signals in digital form and each produce a correspondingbalanced pair of signals. The modified I signal is produced bydetermining the difference between the I and Q signals at a summer 324A,and multiplying the difference by a constant 326 at the mixer 328A. Themodified Q signal is produced by determining the difference between theQ and I signals at a summer 324B, and multiplying the difference by theconstant 326 at the mixer 328B. The constant 326 is a predeterminedvalue that, when multiplied by the difference between the I and Qsignals, allows the second quadrature modulator to output the samesignal level as the first quadrature modulator. The constant 326 may be,e.g., 1/√{square root over (2)}. The LPFs 320A-320B remove noise fromthe balanced analog modified I and Q signals. The mixers 322A-322Bmultiply the analog modified I and Q signals with the carrier signal.The carrier clock provided to the mixers 322A-322B is a quadraturesignal, such that the signal provided to the mixer 322A is 90° out ofphase with the signal provided to the mixer 322B. The resulting signalsare then combined in the output circuit 310. Combining the differencesbetween the I and Q signals (e.g., from the second quadrature modulator)with the I and Q signals (e.g., from the first quadrature modulator)results in cancellation of the third or fifth harmonics of thefundamental I and Q signals, reducing CIM distortion.

The carrier clock generator 308 provides clock signals for the first andsecond quadrature modulators, and may provide up to eight signals: twosignals to each of the mixers 316A-316B and 322A-322B. As such, thecarrier clock generator 308 may be said to be operating in 8-Phase modewhen both the first and second quadrature modulators are active, and in4-Phase mode when only the first quadrature modulator is active. Thecarrier clock generator 308 includes a first portion that provides clocksignals in 4-Phase operation and a second portion that provides clocksignals in 8-Phase operation. Power consumption of the carrier clockgenerator 308 may be reduced when it operates in 4-Phase mode.

During operation, a mode selection circuit 330 turns features of thetransmitter 204 on and off to seamlessly switch between 4-Phase and8-Phase operation. The mode selection circuit 330 changes modes of thetransmitter 204 based on a control signal received from the baseband IC202 (e.g., with the signals 212 via the power controller 214). When themode selection circuit 330 receives the control signal, it controls thedigital baseband portion 302 and analog transceiver portion 304accordingly. The mode selection circuit 330 may be a demultiplexer, amicrocontroller, a series of logic gates, or the like, which turnfeatures of the transmitter 204 on or off depending on the controlsignal. If the transmitter should operate in 8-Phase mode, the functionsof the digital baseband portion 302 are controlled to operate in 8-Phasemode, all the modulators and associated circuits of the analogtransceiver portion 304 are turned on, and the carrier clock generator308 is controlled to produce 8-Phase clock signals. If the transmittershould operate in 4-Phase mode, the functions of the digital basebandportion 302 are controlled to operate in 4-Phase mode, the secondquadrature modulator and associated circuits of the analog transceiverportion 304 are turned off, and the carrier clock generator 308 iscontrolled to produce 4-Phase clock signals.

The compensation and correction module 306 corrects the I and Q outgoingbaseband signals before they are transmitted. Among other correctionoperations, the compensation and correction module 306 may perform phasecompensation and impairment correction. Parameters of the phasecompensation and impairment correction operations may be changed by themode selection circuit 330 according to the operating mode of thetransmitter 204.

For impairment correction, 8-Phase operation and 4-Phase operation maycall for different impairment correction values. Examples of impairmentcorrection include image distortion correction, DC offset correction,correction of signal leakage from the carrier clock generator 308, andthe like. The correction values used may be selected according to themode of operation. Different impairment correction values for 8-Phaseoperation and 4-Phase operation may be stored in the compensation andcorrection module 306, and the appropriate impairment correction valuesmay be selected based on the mode of operation. Image distortioncorrection may be implemented as two tap filters, where the impairmentcorrection values are the tap filter coefficients. Image distortioncorrection may also be implemented as a multiplier with a delayadjustment, where the impairment correction values are the multiplierand delay values. The DC offset correction may be implemented throughaddition of a DC value, where an impairment correction value is theadded DC value.

For phase compensation, transitioning between 8-Phase and 4-Phaseoperation may cause a phase shift from the carrier clock generator 308.The carrier clock generator 308 circuit produces a constant phase shiftbetween 8-Phase and 4-Phase operation. A constant phase shift may beadded to the outgoing baseband signals to compensate for the phase shiftintroduced by the carrier clock generator 308, as well as other phaseshifts introduced by other circuit in the transmission path of thetransmitter 204. The phase shift compensation value used may be selectedaccording to the mode of operation. Different phase compensation valuesfor 8-Phase operation and 4-Phase operation may be stored in thecompensation and correction module 306, and the appropriate phasecompensation values may be selected based on the mode of operation.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show the transmitter 204 during operation, in accordancewith some embodiments. In FIG. 4A, the first quadrature modulator andrelated circuits/functions are enabled and the second quadraturemodulator and related circuits/functions are not turned on, such thatthe transmitter 204 is in 4-Phase operation. Enabling the firstquadrature modulator includes turning on power to the components of thefirst quadrature modulator (indicated in the figure by hashing) andrelated circuits/functions, and turning off or refraining from turningon the second quadrature modulator includes turning off power to thecomponents of the second quadrature modulator and relatedcircuits/functions. In FIG. 4B, the first and second quadraturemodulators and related circuits/functions are enabled, such that thetransmitter 204 is in 8-Phase operation. Enabling the first and secondquadrature modulators includes turning on power to the components of thefirst and second quadrature modulators (indicated in the figure byhashing) and related circuits/functions.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method 500 for controlling spuriousemission of a mobile device 120, in accordance with some embodiments.The method 500 may be performed during operation, such as whencontrolling the transmitter 204 to perform a transmission. For example,the method 500 may be performed by the power controller 214. Thetransmitter 204 is controlled according to CIM requirements. The currenttransmission parameters are obtained (step 502). The transmissionparameters include the current frequency band, the target antenna power,and the current LTE RB configurations. When the current RB configurationdoes not raise CIM concerns (step 504), the mode is switch to 4-Phaseoperation to save power (step 506). 4-Phase operation is enabled byturning on the first quadrature modulator and related circuits/functionsand turning off the second quadrature modulator and relatedcircuits/functions. Conversely, when the current RB configuration raisesCIM concerns, further inquiry is performed to determine the operatingmode. The current threshold operating level is determined based on thecurrent frequency band (step 508). The current threshold may bedetermined based on a threshold lookup table indexed by the currentfrequency band. When the configured target antenna power exceeds thecurrent threshold (step 510), the mode is switch to 8-Phase operation toachieve high CIM performance (step 512). When the configured targetantenna power is less than or equal to the current threshold, 4-Phaseoperation is used.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method 600 for controlling spuriousemission of a mobile device 120, in accordance with some embodiments.The method 600 may be performed when controlling the transmitter 204 toperform a transmission. For example, the method 600 may be performed bythe power controller 214. In step 602, parameters for a transmission arereceived. The transmission parameters include a current resource blockconfiguration of a transmission to be performed by the transmitter 204,a current transmission power of the transmission, and an operating bandof the transmission. In step 604, a threshold transmission power isdetermined according to an operating band of the transmission. In step606, a first quadrature modulator of the transmitter 204 is turned on. Asecond quadrature modulator of the transmitter 204 is refrained frombeing turned on, in response to the current resource block configurationbeing in the center of a channel for the transmission. In step 608, thefirst and second quadrature modulators of the transmitter 204 are turnedon, in response to the current transmission power being greater than thethreshold transmission power.

FIG. 7 is a chart 700 showing power consumption of the transmitter 204as a function of transmission output power. The chart 700 is a plot ofexperimentally collected test data. As can be seen, 4-Phase operation isused at lower transmission output powers, greatly reducing powerconsumption. As transmission output power is increased, 8-Phaseoperation is used. Power consumption is increased, however, using8-Phase operation may achieve sufficient CIM performance. On average,power consumption of a hybrid transmitter is 25% lower than an 8-Phasetransmitter.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a processing system 800 for performingmethods described herein, which may be installed in a host device. Asshown, the processing system 800 includes a processor 802, a memory 804,and interfaces 806-810, which may (or may not) be arranged as shown inFIG. 8 . The processor 802 may be any component or collection ofcomponents adapted to perform computations and/or other processingrelated tasks, and the memory 804 may be any component or collection ofcomponents adapted to store programming and/or instructions forexecution by the processor 802. In an embodiment, the memory 804includes a non-transitory computer readable medium. The interfaces 806,808, 810 may be any component or collection of components that allow theprocessing system 800 to communicate with other devices/componentsand/or a user. For example, one or more of the interfaces 806, 808, 810may be adapted to communicate data, control, or management messages fromthe processor 802 to applications installed on the host device and/or aremote device. As another example, one or more of the interfaces 806,808, 810 may be adapted to allow a user or user device (e.g., personalcomputer (PC), etc.) to interact/communicate with the processing system800. The processing system 800 may include additional components notdepicted in FIG. 8 , such as long term storage (e.g., non-volatilememory, etc.).

In some embodiments, the processing system 800 is included in a networkdevice that is accessing, or part otherwise of, a telecommunicationsnetwork. In one example, the processing system 800 is in a network-sidedevice in a wireless or wireline telecommunications network, such as abase station, a relay station, a scheduler, a controller, a gateway, arouter, an applications server, or any other device in thetelecommunications network. In other embodiments, the processing system800 is in a user-side device accessing a wireless or wirelinetelecommunications network, such as a mobile station, a user equipment(UE), a personal computer (PC), a tablet, a wearable communicationsdevice (e.g., a smartwatch, etc.), or any other device adapted to accessa telecommunications network.

In some embodiments, one or more of the interfaces 806, 808, 810connects the processing system 800 to a transceiver adapted to transmitand receive signaling over the telecommunications network. FIG. 9 is ablock diagram of a transceiver 900 adapted to transmit and receivesignaling over a telecommunications network. The transceiver 900 may beinstalled in a host device. As shown, the transceiver 900 comprises anetwork-side interface 902, a coupler 904, a transmitter 906, a receiver908, a signal processor 910, and a device-side interface 912. Thenetwork-side interface 902 may include any component or collection ofcomponents adapted to transmit or receive signaling over a wireless orwireline telecommunications network. The coupler 904 may include anycomponent or collection of components adapted to facilitatebi-directional communication over the network-side interface 902. Thetransmitter 906 may include any component or collection of components(e.g., up-converter, power amplifier, etc.) adapted to convert abaseband signal into a modulated carrier signal suitable fortransmission over the network-side interface 902. The receiver 908 mayinclude any component or collection of components (e.g., down-converter,low noise amplifier, etc.) adapted to convert a carrier signal receivedover the network-side interface 902 into a baseband signal. The signalprocessor 910 may include any component or collection of componentsadapted to convert a baseband signal into a data signal suitable forcommunication over the device-side interface(s) 912, or vice-versa. Thedevice-side interface(s) 912 may include any component or collection ofcomponents adapted to communicate data-signals between the signalprocessor 910 and components within the host device (e.g., theprocessing system 800, local area network (LAN) ports, etc.).

The transceiver 900 may transmit and receive signaling over any type ofcommunications medium. In some embodiments, the transceiver 900transmits and receives signaling over a wireless medium. For example,the transceiver 900 may be a wireless transceiver adapted to communicatein accordance with a wireless telecommunications protocol, such as acellular protocol (e.g., long-term evolution (LTE), etc.), a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN) protocol (e.g., Wi-Fi, etc.), or any othertype of wireless protocol (e.g., Bluetooth, near field communication(NFC), etc.). In such embodiments, the network-side interface 902comprises one or more antenna/radiating elements. For example, thenetwork-side interface 902 may include a single antenna, multipleseparate antennas, or a multi-antenna array configured for multi-layercommunication, e.g., single input multiple output (SIMO), multiple inputsingle output (MISO), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), etc. Inother embodiments, the transceiver 900 transmits and receives signalingover a wireline medium, e.g., twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, opticalfiber, etc. Specific processing systems and/or transceivers may utilizeall of the components shown, or only a subset of the components, andlevels of integration may vary from device to device.

It should be appreciated that one or more steps of the embodimentmethods provided herein may be performed by corresponding units ormodules. For example, a signal may be transmitted by a transmitting unitor a transmitting module. A signal may be received by a receiving unitor a receiving module. A signal may be processed by a processing unit ora processing module. Other steps may be performed by a determiningunit/module, an receiving unit/module, a summing unit/module, anenabling unit/module, a disabling unit/module, a producing unit/module,a refraining unit/module, a modifying unit/module, a generatingunit/module, a transmitting unit/module, and/or a selecting unit/module.The respective units/modules may be hardware, software, or a combinationthereof. For instance, one or more of the units/modules may be anintegrated circuit, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) orapplication-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference tospecific features and embodiments thereof, it is evident that variousmodifications and combinations can be made thereto without departingfrom scope of the disclosure. The specification and drawings are,accordingly, to be regarded simply as an illustration of the disclosureas defined by the appended claims, and are contemplated to cover any andall modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents that fallwithin the scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A transmitter, comprising: a first quadraturemodulator, comprising: a first mixer; and a second mixer, wherein thefirst mixer and the second mixer are configured to: multiply a receivedfirst in-phase signal and a quadrature signal by a carrier signalprovided by a carrier clock generator; and generate a first portion ofan output signal; a second quadrature modulator, comprising: a thirdmixer; and a fourth mixer, wherein the third mixer and the fourth mixerare configured to multiply a received second in-phase signal and aquadrature signal by a carrier signal provided by the carrier clockgenerator; and generate a second part of the output signal; wherein theoutput signal is transmitted to an antenna and wherein the transmitteris configured to: operate in a 4-phase operation mode or operate in an8-phase operation mode; in the 4-phase operation mode, the carriersignal provided by the carrier clock generator is a 4-phase clocksignal; in the 8-phase operation mode, the carrier signal provided bythe carrier clock generator is an 8-phase clock signal; in the 4-phasemode of operation, the first portion of the output signal is configuredto be output and the second portion of the output signal is configuredto be off; and in the 8-phase operation mode, the first portion of theoutput signal and the second portion of the output signal are configuredto be output after being summed.
 2. The transmitter according to claim1, wherein the transmitter is configured to: operation in the 8-phaseoperation mode or operation in the 4-phase operation mode according tothe transmission parameter, wherein the transmission parameter comprisesone or more of: a current resource block configuration, currenttransmission power, or an operating frequency band.
 3. The transmitteraccording to claim 2, wherein the transmitter is configured to: operatein the 8-phase operation mode or operation in the 4-phase operation modeaccording to whether the current resource block configuration is in thecenter of the channel for the transmission.
 4. The transmitter accordingto claim 2, wherein the transmitter is configured to: operate in the8-phase operation mode or operation in the 4-phase operation modeaccording to whether the current resource block configuration is at theedge of the channel for the transmission.
 5. The transmitter accordingto claim 2, wherein the transmitter is configured to: determine athreshold of transmit power according to an operating frequency band ofthe transmission; select to operate in the 8-phase operation mode oroperate in the 4-phase operation mode according to whether the currenttransmit power of the transmission is less than or equal to thethreshold of transmit power.
 6. The transmitter according to claim 1,wherein the outputs of the first mixer, the second mixer, the thirdmixer, and the fourth mixer are directly connected.
 7. A mobile device,comprising: a transmitter, and an antenna coupled to the transmitter,wherein the transmitter comprises: a first quadrature modulator,comprising: a first mixer; and a second mixer, wherein the first mixerand the second mixer are configured to: multiply a received firstin-phase signal and a quadrature signal by a carrier signal provided bya carrier clock generator; and generate a first portion of an outputsignal; a second quadrature modulator, comprising: a third mixer; and afourth mixer, wherein the third mixer and the fourth mixer areconfigured to: multiply a received second in-phase signal and aquadrature signal by a carrier signal provided by the carrier clockgenerator; and generate a second part of the output signal; and whereinthe transmitter is configured to: operate in a 4-phase operation mode oroperate in an 8-phase operation mode; in the 4-phase operation mode, thecarrier signal provided by the carrier clock generator is a 4-phaseclock signal; in the 8-phase operation mode, the carrier signal providedby the carrier clock generator is an 8-phase clock signal; in the4-phase mode of operation, the first portion of the output signal isconfigured to be output and the second portion of the output signal isconfigured to be off; and in the 8-phase operation mode, the firstportion of the output signal and the second portion of the output signalare configured to be output after being summed.
 8. The transmitteraccording to claim 7, wherein the transmitter is configured to:operation in the 8-phase operation mode or operation in the 4-phaseoperation mode according to the transmission parameter, wherein thetransmission parameter comprises one or more of: a current resourceblock configuration, current transmission power, or an operatingfrequency band.
 9. The transmitter according to claim 8, wherein thetransmitter is configured to: operate in the 8-phase operation mode oroperation in the 4-phase operation mode according to whether the currentresource block configuration is in the center of the channel for thetransmission.
 10. The transmitter according to claim 8, wherein thetransmitter is configured to: operate in the 8-phase operation mode oroperation in the 4-phase operation mode according to whether the currentresource block configuration is at the edge of the channel for thetransmission.
 11. The transmitter according to claim 8, wherein thetransmitter is configured to: determine a threshold of transmit poweraccording to an operating frequency band of the transmission; select tooperate in the 8-phase operation mode or operate in the 4-phaseoperation mode according to whether the current transmit power of thetransmission is less than or equal to the threshold of transmit power.12. The transmitter according to claim 7, wherein the outputs of thefirst mixer, the second mixer, the third mixer, and the fourth mixer aredirectly connected.